Curator

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J KWARA State government is set to commence a five-year tax relief regime for small business owners in the state. This follows a directive given by Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed to the State’s revenue service to put in motion the tax relief regime as part of the government’s effort to boost entrepreneurship and eradicate poverty in the State. A statement released by Wahab Oba, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, quoted the governor as saying the five-year tax relief regime is aimed at facilitating economic growth and development of the State, at a lecture to mark the 50th anniversary of the State in Ilorin. Ahmed directed Chairman of the State Internal Revenue Service to coordinate the process of the tax holiday, the statement said. He said State has not introduced fresh taxes but only succeeded in blocking leakages in the system through effective management of the collection processes, adding that “our business is not to kill your business but to grow your bu...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J By Festus Ahon & Ochuko Akuopha IVORY Whetstones Foundation International, has empowered 50 widows and 13 women leaders from communities in Isoko North, Isoko South and Ndokwa East local government areas of Delta State with pest control and other farming equipment. It also donated and commissioned a with four taps and power generating set at Uzere community, Isoko South. Speaking at Uzere while presenting the items to the women from Ozoro, Enwhe, Uzere, Ejeme, Ossissa, Okpe-Isoko, Ada-Irri, Ibrede, Owhe-Ologbo, Irri, Emede and Araya communities, founder of the foundation which is also the publisher of See Inspiration Magazine ,  Mrs. Lawretta Ogri said the gesture was in continuation of the ‘Restoring Everything Damaged, RED’ programme of the foundation. Ogri said the foundation was serving the need of women and children who are in need in Nigeria, adding that they were out to give a new lease of life to the elderly, widows and children of all ages thr...

http://ift.tt/2qNaFD2 Injured Super Eagles’ defender, Leon Balogun is out of Nigeria’s friendly games against Corsica and Togo, as well as the African Nations Cup qualifier against South Africa.PHOTO: AFP The Super Eagles are ready to take on Corsica. Ordinarily, a game against the European team, which is not even affiliated to world football governing body, FIFA, should not draw such massive interest as this has. But so many things are involved in this particular match, which holds on May 26. First, most of the players in camp are fringe players in the national team, who want to use the games against Corsica and Togo to sell their skills to Super Eagles’ Coach, Gernot Rohr. There is also the added thrill in the number of young and talented players from European clubs, who will be presenting their games to Nigerians for the first time during these friendlies. And of course, it is the Super Eagles, a team that elicits so much interest from potential opponents no matter the quality...

http://ift.tt/2qib2ln A ground-breaking survey led by The Initiative for Equal Rights has found that support for the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act (SSMPA) remains at 90%. Let’s start with the bad news. A ground-breaking survey led by The Initiative for Equal Rights has found that support for the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act (SSMPA) remains at 90%. Sad to say, this means that only 10% of Nigerian civil society opposes what is a profoundly dehumanising policy. Additionally, the survey has found that only 39% of Nigerians agree that “homosexuals should have equal access to healthcare, housing and other public goods.” These are sobering numbers. The good news, then, is that it is a 9% increase from a 2015 poll when only 30% of respondents thought that “homosexuals should have equal access to healthcare, housing and other public goods.” For a country of Nigeria’s population, 9% reflects millions. Another small consolation is that 70% of respondents do not believe that LGBTQI p...

http://ift.tt/2qNfJag BudgIT’s co-founder Olusegun Onigbinde A term report credited to BudgIT, which appeared on the front page of The Guardian of Wednesday May 3, concluded that the non-functional budget system at the states level, coupled with several other ills and non-implementation of development plans will derail the country’s Vision 20-2020 blueprint.   This assessment is erroneous, to say the least. BudgIT colour-coded all sorts of intolerable scenarios and blamed their consequences on Nigeria’s subnational government.   To state that little was known, as BudgIT’s co-founder Olusegun Onigbinde had done, on how the bailouts and Paris Club refunds were spent is, indeed, most economical with the truth. Moreover, it is most uncharitable, if not ignorant, to allege that governors were just waiting for a discovery or refund before proceeding with frivolities. Such generalisations are not only intemperate, they expose BudgIT’s organisational deficiency.   ...

http://ift.tt/2o61ca3 Pat Odinachi Utomi Professor Pat Utomi is known for his eloquence in the call for inclusive development, transparency in public finance management and fiscal frugality. In his assessment of the economy since the return to democracy, with emphasis on the last two years, the political economy professor told CHIJIOKE NELSON and GLORIA EHIAGHE that the economy is tightly held hostage by a few with “state capture” mentality. What is your perspective on the economy since return to democracy in 1999? A very interesting thing that came just at the return to civil rule was the emergence of the Afro Barometer. A group of American scholars had created these indicators for measure of democratic legitimacy and the perception of the democratic culture. It started shortly after return to civil rule. One of the early indicators was how enthusiastic people were for a democratic order just even before the elections. Unfortunately, few years following the return of civil rule,...

http://ift.tt/2qNjrAJ US actor Dustin Hoffman, US director Noah Baumbach, British actress Emma Thompson, US actor Ben Stiller and US actor Adam Sandler wave as they arrive on May 21, 2017 for the screening of the film 'The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)' at the 70th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France.Anne-Christine POUJOULAT / AFP A wrenching French AIDS drama, a cinematic indictment of Putin’s Russia and a bittersweet Adam Sandler comedy are among the 70th Cannes film festival contenders that have captured critics’ hearts. The race for the Palme d’Or top prize at the world’s biggest film festival still looks wide open, with a Nicole Kidman horror movie and a tense drama by two-time winner Michael Haneke earning some glowing reviews. Ahead of awards night Sunday, when a jury led by Spanish director Pedro Almodovar and including Hollywood stars Will Smith and Jessica Chastain will pick the winners from 19 pictures, AFP spotlights the brea...

http://ift.tt/2qi8OTc Managing Director, Retail and Investment Company Ltd, Ejimofor Akah and Board Chairman of Shenzen Jizhao Information Technology Co Ltd China, Cheng Saiping, at the MoU signing to build a smart phone/tablet assembly plant in Nigeria by both companies. Nigerian firm, Retail Development and Investment Company (RDIC), has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Shenzhen Jizhao Information Technology Co. Ltd., a leading manufacturer of tablet PCs and smart phones in China to build a smart phone and tablet personal computer (PC) assembly plant in Nigeria. This comes barely a month after AfriOne Ltd., a technology-driven enterprise unveiled its manufacturing and assembly plant for ‘Made-in-Nigeria’ phones and other devices in Ilupeju, Lagos. The plant, The Guardian gathered would be sited in Anambra State, South East, Nigeria, and construction begun in earnest with a mission to complement the State Government’s educational and industrialisation drive. ...

http://ift.tt/2qN4H4O Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun The Federal Government will begin to track goods that come into the country from July 11, to ensure compliance with the reviewed guidelines on import procedures.      The Nigerian Customs Service memo on further requirements to Federal Ministry of Finance ref F.194600/TR/IG/1/174 dated April 11, 2017, indicated that used spare parts must be packed in cases and the cases put atop pallets. The new guidelines are primarily to avert unnecessary delays at the ports, as processes become cumbersome at the ports due to the haphazard manner in which goods are packed in containers. Different types of goods are just dumped in the container and imported into Nigeria, thus slowing the pace of physical examination and making it impossible for modern equipment to be used to examine containers.      Other requirements are that; vehicular imports should have the complete and correct 17 ...

http://ift.tt/2qUoPiI Theodore Orji The Senator representing Abia Central, Chief Theodore Orji, has stated that contrary to beliefs in some quarters, the duty of a lawmaker at both federal and state levels did not include nomination or determination of contractors to handle approved projects or award contracts. He said it is, however, the duty of a lawmaker to table the needs of his constituency before the government and ensure that such needs are accommodated in the budgets for execution. It would then be a follow-up duty of the lawmaker to see that the approved projects are executed.The senator, who spoke at Nsirimo in Umuahia South Local Council at the formal commissioning of the motorised water borehole, which the Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audi Ogbe said the senator attracted to the community, urged the community and other communities in whose domains projects are built, to protect them from vandalism and use them effectively and responsibly. The Minister, represented b...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J T HERE are many African proverbs that convey the importance and place of family bond in society. One of my mother’s favourites was, “Nwene nmadu bu uko ogbo.” The literal English translation is, “Your brother or sister is your covering or your cloth.” South Africans have a profound expression of this bond. They call it “Ubuntu.” The full Zulu expression is, “ Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu,” meaning, “A person is a person through other people.” Sex? The definition of “the family” is changing. A social demographic like “sex”, for example, has been gradually replaced in some parts of the world by the word, “orientation.” There are also bathroom wars over what label to use for those who are neither “male” nor “female.” Many children today are growing up under different family settings than the generation before them, with increasing cases of working Mom and Dad, single parenthood, separation, divorce and permanent singlehood, not to mention the impact of new reprodu...